Lewis Hamilton opened his title defence for 2015 with a clinical victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The 58-lap race around the Albert Park street circuit saw the two-time world champion start from pole position, ahead of his Mercedes AMG teammate Nico Rosberg.
The two finished in the same places to present the team with their first one-two of the new year.
In a fairly uneventful grand prix, only 11 cars finished out of the 18 that successfully qualified. Three drivers succumbed to problems before the start of the race, while the two Manor F1 vehicles did not appear on track all weekend.
Valtteri Bottas in the Williams was ruled out of the race after he failed to pass a mandatory medical test implemented by the sport’s governing body, the FIA. The Finn, who qualified sixth on the grid, had sustained a back injury.
McLaren’s dismal weekend was made worse after their replacement driver Kevin Magnussen blew the Honda power-unit on the reconnaissance lap before the start of the race.
The Dane was joined by Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat, who had a gearbox issue on his recon lap, leaving him stranded on the circuit and unable to race.
Once the race got going, the two Mercedes AMGs stormed into the lead with Hamilton in firm control over Rosberg.
Kimi Räikkönen in the Ferrari was keen to make amends for the disappointing performances of 2014, with a strong getaway off the line out of fifth position, putting himself ahead of new teammate Sebastian Vettel going into Turn 1.
However the 2007 world champion soon found that his eager start meant he had no room to negotiate through the first corner, with Vettel clearing him from the inside. Soon Räikkönen was tagged by Toro Rosso and Sauber rookies Carlos Sainz and Felipe Nasr.
Nasr, as a result of being crowded, gave Pastor Maldonado the tank-slapper, which saw the Venezuelan spectacularly hit the wall on the exit of Turn 2.
With Räikkönen having lost ground to Nasr and home-favourite Daniel Ricciardo, the safety car was deployed to oversee the removal of the Maldonado wreckage.
Lotus’ optimistic day was made miserable with the early retirement of Romain Grosjean due to mechanical problems.
After the initial dramas, the racing was back on track and apart from some wheel-to-wheel action between ex-McLaren teammates Sergio Perez and Jenson Button at the rear of the field, there was not much in the way of overtaking.
There was no love lost between the Mexican and Briton, as at one point the McLaren driver shut the door on the Force India, leaving Perez in a spin. With the Honda power-unit’s output having been turned down in order to test reliability this weekend, Perez was eventually able to pass the 2009 world champion for the final available championship point.
Vettel took advantage of Felipe Massa being held up by Ricciardo after the Brazilian’s sole pit-stop and emerged to take his first podium for Ferrari in third.
For some laps there was an interesting battle between Ricciardo and Räikkönen, however after two pit-stops that went awry for the Finn, he was forced to park the car on the exit of Turn 3 with the left-rear not having been secured.
17-year-old Max Verstappen saw his Formula One debut go up in a cloud of smoke when his Toro Rosso started to send out plumes of smoke, forcing the Dutchman to bring his car to a halt on Lap 42.
With only 11 finishers, the biggest highlight was the Sauber team scoring points off both their drivers, including a fifth place for rookie Nasr. After a week of intense scrutiny of their court case, the Swiss team were able to claim points for the first time since 2013, with Marcus Ericsson finishing a career-best eighth.
Sainz on debut accumulated two points for Toro Rosso, while the Force Indias, despite not having their 2014 pace, were able to put something on the board, unlike McLaren who were unlucky to be the sole car out of the points.
Finishing the race alone was like a victory for the Honda-powered squad, who aim to improve their reliability.
Ricciardo’s sixth place confirmed the plethora of drivability problems that the Red Bull outfit currently face, with heavy scrutiny of their power-unit supplier, Renault.
Nevertheless, the day belonged to Hamilton and the Silver Arrows, who demonstrated by finishing 34 seconds ahead of the third-placed Ferrari that 2015 will be theirs and Hamilton’s title to lose.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Yes, they were indeed fortunate, but even so, to be there to pick up the points, they could be extremely handy at the pointy end of the campaign. As we discussed on the weekend when you pointed out their holding off development until mid-season, they might not be in the points on merit in a full-field until after the summer break. As for Hulkenberg - this notion that since he's 5 cm too tall and consequently a couple of kilos above ideal, for this to be the decisive factor holding him back from a berth with a genuine contender, really is an unfortunate blight on the sport.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
To be honest, Force India were lucky to score in Melbourne. If it wasn't for the double retirement that Lotus unfortunately suffered, then they'd be perhaps only chasing tenth in the race. That'd be interesting for Hulk, having his career come full circle. Mind you he did score that pole position in 2010 there.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
And it has to be said that Max himself would likely have accrued a point or two, perhaps more if not for the failure, so the disappointment is understandable. Force India slipped under the radar somewhat, considering their curtailed pre-season, to have both cars in the points despite the attrition is testament to their resilience. You have to wonder if Hulkenberg is ever going to enjoy a ride he deserves. If Bottas were to move to Merc or Ferrari, I'd fancy Hulk replacing him at Williams - he did make his debut with them after all...
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
I'd say if following Spain that Rosberg hasn't beaten Hamilton at least once then it's going to be an extremely long road back. In 2014, Lewis missed out in the first race and gradually reigned in the deficit - this time around, he's making the running and doesn't seem the type to crack under pressure.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
You'd think if Nico fails to beat Lewis this year that'd be the case. But it is still quite early in the season and plenty of time for Nico to find that spring in his step. But as you say, Lewis already has one hand on the title.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Cheers Bayden, Jos fuming at Renault explains why he stormed out of the garage when Max retired. We obviously know there are others at the moment that share his sentiments re Renault. The winners from that race were Sauber for finishing in the points after their dry spell in 2014 and the court case that shrouded the early part of the weekend. Carlos Sainz too would have been up there if he didn't have that pit stop drama.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
It's hard not to state the obvious but it really is Hamilton's to lose. Probably too early to write off Rosberg - he needs to win at least one of the flyaway events and hope Lewis has a poor outing along the way, ultimately he will need to raise his game another level from last season, which might be too much to ask.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Thorough write up! It was a pity that Bottas was absent - he'd surely have given Vettel a sterner fight for third. I believe Kimi will be back up there, pretty even money with Seb as long as he isn't cruelled by pit-stop blues and ultimately race-ending errors as a result. Sauber really is the big story considering their fraught lead-in, not least last season - it's a pity the court proceedings have in many ways taken the gloss away from a fine performance. I read Jos Verstappen was fuming about Renault, clearly he's impatient to see Max on his way immediately - being the ripe-old age of seventeen and all! It would have been something for McLaren to sneak a point at the first race - even in spite of the attrition, the data acquired from completing a race distance will be gold. Great to finally meet my Roaring F1 colleague!
SM
Guest
Hamilton has already got one hand on the title and will surely win it baring disaster. Rosberg I feel, was broken at Spa last year, and besides, was only in contention last season due to Hamilton's issues with reliability. The German is nowhere near the same class as the great drivers of this or any other era, and you get the feeling that he knows it too. His comments in the press conference after the race spoke volumes. That's not to say Rosberg isn't a brilliant driver in his own right, of course he is, as is any driver who lands themselves a drive in a top line team. But it's always a shame for the sport when a dominant team has such a gulf in class between it's number 1 and 2 drivers. We've seen it in the past with Patrese and Barrichello, and we may well see it again.